More about Britannia Airport Hotel
Dreadful hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
Hotel room was dirty. No sheets on the bed and we had to wait an hour and eventually go down to rception before sheets were provided so we could go to bed. The information about car parking and the shuttle bus to the airport was very misleading. We booked on the basis that we would be parking our car at the hotel and would be taken to the airport in a shuttle bus but on arrival late at night we were presented with directions to a long stay car park and told there was no room for our car at the hotel and had to drive the following morning to the car park.
Reception staff were disinterested.
Take my advice and do not stay in this very poor hotel
A very expensive Dump
by TripAdvisor Member Genial
We made a big mistake, on one website this hotel is rated as "4 Star"! For your sake don't believe this! It has all the quality of a shabby B & B. There must be layers of carpet in the bedrooms and halls you feel your sinking. Poorly maintained in all departments. Dreadful beds and pillows we spent a very uncomfortable night. I would also state that we may not be Mancunian and therefore for some hard to understand but the staff had problems with everyone dialect (English)
Be careful also when you travel to the hotel via the courtesy coach, the pick up information is misleading and the drivers are not welcoming.
We will never be back in a Britannia Hotel again
Not great but hardly 'horrific'!
by TripAdvisor Member Bandango
We stayed at this hotel for one night prior to catching an early flight. After reading the reviews on this website my husband & I were desperately trying to think of a way to cancel as we'd already paid. However, when we got there i couldn't believe all the fuss that had been made about how bad it was-it was fine! The reception staff although not brimming with happiness were pleasant and efficient. The bed was a little uncomfortable & the room could have done with upgrading but it was clean & tidy and for one night who needs the presidential suite? I will say this-the food was crap! Don't eat it. I had a ham toasted sandwich & it tasted suspiciously like fish! Its also extortionately priced. Okay, so you wouldn't want to stay here for more than one night but it really isn't as bad as all that.
Fawlty Towers
by A TripAdvisor Member
Having an early morning flight out of Manchester, this hotel seemed the ideal place to stay overnight. Never again!
On arrival the staff were mainly polite but inefficient. The receptionist asked what time our flight was and we informed her it was 09.30 which meant we needed to check in at 07.30 Her maths could not have been too good as she said she would book us on the shuttle bus for 5.15 (it states it is about 15 minutes to the airport). We requested a later bus and were then booked onto the 6.15 which arrived promptly the next morning. The driver was sullen and drove us to another Britannia hotel to pick up a few more travellers. He then went into the hotel and reappeared 20 minutes later with no explanation at all. The bus was full, hot and uncomfortable. We then went onto the airport and passed our hotel on the way. At the airport the driver gave no indication as to which terminal we were being dropped at, just opened the doors and waited for us to get off.
The hotel itself is very basic and grubby, bordering on filthy! The beds were very uncomfortable with thin mattresses and pillows. The grey carpet was very dirty with large stains. The bathroom was grubby and the TV remote, which was held together with sellotape, did not work. On the plus side, there were tea and coffee making facilities which were useful as our flight time meant we left before the breakfast times.
On the evening, we decided just to have sandwiches in the bar area, which seemed simple enough. After a long wait we enquired about the non appearance of our sandwiches and were told they would not be long. We waited 50 minutes.
Be warned that there is no cash machine in the hotel.
Overall, the hotel was way below standard and unsuitable for a stay of more than one night. I would not use this hotel again.
Rancid
by TripAdvisor Member GrandJambon
Stayed here before a business meeting - never again. Felt threatened by other residents, staff couldn't give a monkeys and everyone was drunk and chundering everywhere. Great for a stag do or footall game with the lads, rubbish for geezer in a suit. It was summed up when I went to the toilet in the bar area and all the sinks were full of fresh warm puke. Nice.
Think Thailand Jail!
by TripAdvisor Member Vinnie D
We had prebooked this hotel for our return from the Maldives. So imagine our horror following a long-haul flight when we saw the Britannia hotel - I mistook it for a derelict building ready prepared for demolition.
I was almost in tears, others were.
The hotel's website claims its 4-star and shows lovely modern rooms. These pictures do not belong to this hotel. I found out later that the rooms on the second and third floor were bearable but the other 7 floors are disgusting. I would not keep rats here - it would be too cruel. We arrived too late in the evening to go elsewhere but with hindsight we should have gone right back to the airport and the radisson-sas.
The staff were rude and disinterested and the entire hotel filthy. I've seen better lifts in Londons inner city blocks. Everything was disgusting. The human excrement, skin, hair, snot and general dirt which lined the sink, bath and toilet was stomach churning. After a day and a half travelling my husband and I knew we would be cleaner not showering. There were holes in the wall filled with crisp packets, other rubbish and used chewing gum (inches from the pillow - lovely), nothing in the room worked, bed and tv included. And everything was filthy. Everything! The air was so thick with smoke that you could barely breathe. I have never left a hotel feeling dirtier that when I arrived.
We neither slept nor washed and left as early as we could despite it meaning over 7-hours in manchester airport (which although not clean was cleaner than the hotel). The bus driver was also extremely ignorant, no doubt tired of hearing constant complaints about the hotel. And yes the fact that you are taken to the equally horrible country hotel first and then back past the hotel you've just left before being taken to the airport is beyond reason. The final insult infact.
This truly is the hotel from hell, and i so feel for people that book breaks and tours with this hotel chain. Cancel now! Trust me losing your deposit is better than staying here.
A Horrific experience never to be repeated. We will never use Britannia hotels again.
What they don't tell you!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Having travelled from Scotland, we stayed overnight for early flight out of Manchester airport terminal 2. Hotel was cheap - that and it's close proximity to the airport are it's only positives.
We also booked 8 days secure car parking whilst we were on holiday with coach transfer to airport, described in website as being "close to the airport".
Found out at time of transfer that coach also picked up from sister hotel and dropped off at terminal 1 before terminal 2. Although airport is close, transfer took more than 1 hour, meaning we almost missed our check in time.
On return, we emerged from arrivals at 9:31 am. We waited 5 minutes to see if coach would arrive. When I then phoned hotel to ask if we had missed the 9:30 am coach, (ie that it was not running late), was told by receptionist called Duncan that "you have a timetable sir, which you received on arrival at the hotel, and times are as given on timetable, and that therefore the next coach is 11:00 am", (one and a half hours later). He was very much on the defensive right away and very patronising. I merely pointed out that the timetable also stated that times were not exact as could be influenced by traffic conditions, hence my call. This was met with total disinterest.
We took a taxi at £7.80 from terminal 2 to hotel which took about 5 minutes which saved us a potential, further two and a half hours delay.
So, if you do opt for this service, clarify pick up times in advance - allow at least 1 hour travel time from hotel to airport and remember "regular shuttle" means between 45 minutes and 90 minutes between coaches (unlike most other airport car park shuttle services which either run on request or every 5 to 10 minutes).
Don't expect any assistance from the reception staff in general - our experience is that they are just not interested and don't appear to understand the meaning of customer service. I would rather travel during the night as opposed to staying in this hotel again.
Avoid this hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Aang
The journey from this hotel to Manchester Airport takes 45 minutes using the hotel's coach service. There may be up to one hour's wait for a coach.
The hotel looks like an ugly Soviet tower block and it is close to a busy and noisy major road.
I found my room noisy and stuffy.
The restaurant serves the sort of breakfast you might expect to get at a badly run scout camp. I was unable to get dinner on my arrival, as a coach party had just arrived. The steak pie in the bar was the worst I have ever tasted.
The stair carpets are torn and in places are ingrained with vomit and chewing gum.
Litter is commonly found in the lifts.
I will avoid Britannia hotels in future.
